Week Three Highlights

By Kent G. 

     Week 3 started out with some internet connection problems, which was an issue for Krista because she had a project due Sunday night (she’s working on her Master’s degree online). A new couple at the church heard what was going on and invited her to their place to use the wifi. As we didn’t know them well I tagged along to be safe. After all, I wouldn’t want to miss out on the glory of martyrdom!

Alas, they’ve turned out to be great people with wonderful hearts to serve God. They were very hospitable to us during the couple hour stay and Krista was able to finish what she needed to, which saved us a trip across the border, or a hunt for a decent internet cafe here.

     In addition to our typical routine with the kids we enjoyed a few special occasions this week. For one, Valentine’s Day fell on Tuesday. Here in Mexico it’s known as the Day of Love and Friendship. As Krista and I love all of our little niño friends, we made each of them a special goody bag filled with candy and a large wooden top.

   
   It was fun to see the kids’ faces light up when they opened their bags. They always love candy and it was special for them to have their name written on a toy that belonged especially to them, as opposed to being shared amongst the whole group. The tops are very popular here in Mexico and the kids wasted no time winding them up and showing us how to throw them, pick them up once they’re spinning, toss them in the air with the string while spinning, and other tricks. It was all quite impressive! After some time Krista learned to throw one, but mine still only spin upside down :(

     Tuesday evening the church hosted a Valentine’s Dinner, which made Krista and I feel right at home! We weren’t as involved in the preparations as we usually are at Lively Stone, and there wasn’t any theater, but they did have some live music and a fundraiser raffle! It made us chuckle and we enjoyed a nice meal and time spent with folks from here at the orphanage and around the community.

     At some point during this week a group from Montana arrived which meant Krista and I had to vacate the guest house across the street and move into the place being prepared for us above the girls’ dorm at the compound. They’d been working on the ‘apartment’ since before we were here in the summer. It consists of two rooms and a bathroom. As of yet, the bathroom is without a door, sink, or working shower. All minor details, I’m sure. We each have a bed and there’s a dresser between us. All in all, a nice space to sleep and retreat to when needed.

     For the most part the Montana team was busy with construction projects in Benjamin Hill and at the guest house across the street, but Saturday they took all of us from the orphanage to a special pizza dinner in Magdelena (a bigger town about half an hour away). The boys challenged each other to see who could eat the most slices and there was more than one stomach ache by the end of the evening. There may or may not have been some spitballs flying as well! This pizza trip is a tradition every time the Montana team comes and everyone here really looks forward to it. It’s nice to see the kids get out and experience more of the world than just the orphanage and Imuris.

     Thank you to everyone who’s been praying for us! We both battled upset stomachs this week (not to do with pizza night, mind you) and I struggled with severe back pain. In addition to the physical challenges we both wrestled some with our purpose in being here and adjusting to our roles. Also, reconciling our expectations with reality and working through some of the cultural challenges proved to be difficult. I for one was really missing home! So again, thank you for your prayers, and stay posted for highlights from Week 4

Week Four Highlights

     Sunday: the team from Montana stayed at Imuris for the morning. We all had church together and enjoyed a time of joining together as the body of Christ across the nations. After church the ladies made a delicious meal for everyone. Kent and I chatted with Alejandro and it was nice to be able to catch up with him. We also talked with an Hermana who is working diligently to learn English. Her husband is American and only speaks English and she is Mexican and just started learning English, despite the language barriers they seem very happy together. During our conversation, the restaurant Palo Verde was mentioned as being fabulous. We had not eaten there and they decided that needed to be fixed that day. Plans were made for dinner.

     After lunch, some of the Montana team went shopping for food for food baskets they were creating for people in Benjamin Hill. While they were doing that, we played a rousing game of soccer with the kids. One of the gentlemen from the Montana team joined us and it was a great game. In true Kid’s Kingdom fashion, we had to dodge vans, bikes, and other games while playing.

     I was somewhat surprised when our dinner plans did not change and Alejandro showed up to get us. We loaded into my car and stopped by his house to pick up his family, (Jessica=amazing wife, Marvin=oldest son, Yoselin and Viviana=adorable twins). Palo Verde is a nicer indoor sit down restaurant with great food. I ordered a salad with chicken and it was amazing! I didn’t realize how much I was missing a good salad until I started eating it.

     Monday: we had breakfast, cleaned up, class (we were about to start class, when the dance teacher arrived and the young ninas and I started to learn a Spanish folk dance, the girls continued to work on their dance every day for the rest of the week), games, lunch, and rushed the kids to school. Alejandro and Jessica invited us over for lunch, so we did not eat with the children and once they were off we walked over to their house. Jessica had prepared an excellent lunch and we had some great conversations. They shared more about their time in Bible college and what God has been doing in their lives. Alejandro wants to be a pastor of some sort but they have not completed training yet. It is always amazing to catch up with friends. (All this conversing was done with a combination of broken Spanish, broken English, and Google Translate)

   

     We then went to another orphanage in the area and I got to see Jumana! Jumana, with her sisters, was staying at Kid’s Kingdom the first summer Arielle and I spent in Mexico. It was great to check in on her and see that she is doing well. She is in kindergarten now and is growing up so fast!

 This was Jumana the first summer I met her. I forgot to get a current picture :-(

     Monday night Jessica and Alejandro made fish tacos for the Montana team and all of us at Kid’s Kingdom. They were great! These days seemed to have focused around food and fellowship.

     Tuesday: this was a normal day for the most part only dance class instead of Bible class. Pastor Mark and one of the other gentlemen from the MT team finished mudding the wall in our room. That evening the MT team made hamburgers for everyone and we had a marshmallow shooter war.

     Wednesday: this was the sad day that we had to say goodbye to the MT team. However, before they left they installed a shower head in our bathroom, fixed the leaking toilet and ordered a sink for our bathroom! Talking about blessings!!! After they left we set about getting things ready for the team from Arizona that was arriving the next day.

Here are some of the pictures of the stuff the MT team accomplished in Benjamin Hills

     Wednesday evening Kent taught on the Belt of Truth from Ephesians six. The plan was to teach through the armor in our morning classes but instead we are going to do it on Wednesday nights. The kids loved the lesson and the creation of the belts. After church was finished some of the little girls decided they needed to do my makeup and they made me look “beautiful!” After my makeover we went to the store and purchased some snack items and then watched a movie with Alejandro.

They are all wearing there Belts of Truth

     Thursday: we started the day by heading up to Nogales AZ to meet the team at the border and help them with the crossing. Before meeting them we ate at McDonald's twice (Kent was apparently craving it), did some shopping at Wal-Mart, and made some phone calls. The border crossing went smoothly.

     The team from AZ is from a Christian school, and this was there fearless leaders 26^th trip! This group was eighth graders, with some adults, a few high school leaders, and a couple college leaders. They brought a lot of energy and the place filled fast with neighborhood kids and families to hang out. This group brings food with them and cooks all the meals for EVERYONE which was a great break for all involved in the normal feeding process.

     Thursday evening, we played a wild game of soccer. I must admit it was the most stressful game of soccer I have played. There was three times the number of players (30ish), then probably four times the normal number of human obstacles to dodge (25ish), fast moving carts/skateboard (3), extra balls flying around, and then some of the players from AZ (and some of the older neighborhood guys) could kick the ball really hard. All in all, there was a lot to try and keep track of! I blocked the ball from hitting my glasses a couple times (the guys kept laughing at me because I used my arms but I decided I would rather take a hand ball call than break my glasses again) after all that I wasn't fast enough  and my glasses got bent. Luckily I was able to bend them back into shape. I also managed not to trip and re-injure my knee so I believe I came out a winner. I have no clue what the actual score was, I was too busy with everything else to bother with that. Now this is my perspective of the game, I know most of them loved it, there is no accounting for taste ;-)

     Friday: the AZ team made breakfast and then while they did their devotions we did class with the kids. Some of them are trying out their new English and finding it to be helpful, others needed to be encouraged to try using what they have been learning. The afternoon was filled with playing and some of the AZ team painted the outside eating and craft area. It is now a nice bright orange.

Friday evening, we had a talent show. The AZ team brought some impressive yo-yo tricks and hand walking. Jose and Raquel sang an adorable duet of one of the local children ditties. There was also a plethora of lip sinking from all.

     Saturday: we had a VBS style kids club. Christopher led worship and then Kent told the story of David and Goliath while Ruben senior translated and a combination of AZ and local people acted it out. It was an enjoyable re-enactment to watch and listen to (Kent and Ruben work well together as MC’s if anyone ever wants to book an English/Spanish combo J). After that the children were divided into color groups and sent off with their brave leaders from AZ to participate in games, crafts, and an English lesson. These areas all had people from AZ running them as well. After all the children finished their rotations we met back in the church for a few more songs and closing remarks. All in all, it went well and everyone worked hard and tried their best.

(I'm having trouble finding pictures but here are some URLs for videos of this time)

https://www.facebook.com/imuriskids/videos/10210279609241488/

https://www.facebook.com/imuriskids/videos/10210173176380733/

https://www.facebook.com/imuriskids/videos/10210170887283507/

https://www.facebook.com/imuriskids/videos/10210170860962849/

     In the afternoon, there was a lot of playing! Then the most glorious of things happened, Pastor Joel put a door on our bathroom!!!!! This might seem silly but when you are two people of the opposite gender a bathroom door is a highly valued item. Our bathroom at this point had a toilet, a door, and a shower head (the plumbing wasn’t ready to take showers yet) it was becoming complete.

   The tiling looks so great and the light fixtures are pretty, when finished this is going to be an outstanding bathroom! Thank you to everyone who contributed.

    Unfortunately, that evening I started to have a cold set in, which made the rest of the evening not as enjoyable. There was a great service with excellent worship and a time for testimonies. After the service the adults from Kid’s Kingdom began getting ready for all the Sunday activities.

Week Two Highlights

     We started our second week with a trip to Phoenix to drop off Diane at the airport. It was a real blessing having her with us for the first week, but she was needed back in Oregon. After dropping her off, Kent’s cousins hosted us at a Superbowl party. They were very welcoming and it was an enjoyable party. I, Krista, had some stuff for the reserves that I needed to accomplish before returning to Mexico, so we stayed the night in Phoenix.

     Monday morning proved to be a difficult morning for me. The website I needed to utilize was not working properly and I couldn’t accomplish everything I needed to get done. More than that though, I received a phone call that my grandmother had died during the night. Grandma Mary’s health had been declining, but I thought we still had a couple of years. Grandma was a spunky lady and full of life. With a plethora of amazing stories and had lived a full and adventurous life. Grandma’s true loves were Jesus and Earl, her husband, now she is united with both and I am sure she is immensely happy.

      We took our time in returning to Mexico, allowing me time to process before the barrage of ninos and hoping to hear back about the website issues I was having. We made a Wal-Mart run and picked up a few supplies. The first Sunday we were in Mexico I had broken my glasses, so we stopped at the optometrist center in Wal-Mart to see if they could fix my glasses. Unfortunately, they couldn’t, however they had a pair of frames that would fit my lenses so I have glasses again. We ate at In N’ Out Burger and then headed to the border.

      When we arrived at the border it was backed up. Normally there is a lane for semi’s, they all have to be checked, and a lane for cars. The semi truck lane was closed which was causing the issues. Well as we were sitting there we noticed that the cars in front and behind us were driving across the median and moving up the lane. Deciding there must be another lane open for cars further up we followed suite, (when in Rome right?). Well when you cross the median you are now driving into the traffic leaving Mexico. Upon getting further up we discovered that the cars were just going round and forcing their way back into the main line in front of everyone else. Because of barriers we couldn’t re-cross back into the line before the front. The border agents just watched and didn’t seem to care that everyone was driving up traffic and then cutting everyone else off. It was a slightly alarming adventure but we saved a lot of time ;-)

We decided to snap a picture during our abnormal border crossing in case it went wrong ;-)

     The rest of the week was spent settling into a routine and preparing for birthday parties. I start the day with homework and then we go eat breakfast followed by class with the ninos.

In the afternoon, while the older ninos are at school, we work on projects, hang out with the younger ninos, and utilize personal time. Kent brought some puzzles and blocks and the children love to play with them. They have spent hours putting the same puzzle together again and again. It is also interesting that they always want to build the block structures to match the pictures on the box.

 Notice Judith (pronounced yulEt) is doing my homework while I play with blocks...

     Friday was Jesus' 19^th birthday. Jesus started living here as a young child and has become part of the family. We had a small party with carne asada, cake, friends, and gifts. This was a perfect party for him. He will finish school this year. while he is finishing his school he is also working night shifts. It will be exciting to see where God leads him.

     

     Saturday was Ruben jr. and Lilia’s birthdays. Lilia and Arturo are the founders and driving force behind this ministry. Ruben jr. is there grandson, he was turning six. Lilia didn’t want a party, claiming her grandson was the perfect gift. Ruben’s party was Lego themed and the people here know how to party! The decorations were elaborate, there was a plethora of food, bounce houses, and a Lego piñata bigger than Ruben. All the neighborhood kids and families showed up and it was a happening place.  

 

 

 I also preached Wednesday night (almost forgot but I saw the picture)

One more exciting thing for us. Kent fixed the hot water issue! The propane line was kinked so the hot water heater wasn't getting propane.